November 1, 2024 | Cambridgeshire, England – No speaker better exemplifies the demand for re-imagined hi-fi classics than the Wharfedale Linton. Originally one of Britain’s best-selling speakers between 1965 and the late 1970s, Wharfedale brought it back in 2019 as part of its Heritage line – lovingly re-engineered using the latest techniques and technologies.
In the five years since launch, sales of the reincarnated Linton have surpassed even Wharfedale’s expectations. Not only is it the company’s best-selling current speaker – no mean feat when you consider Wharfedale makes so many other top-selling models – it is also one of the most popular hi-fi speakers in the world, inspiring other brands to jump on the ‘newstalgia’ bandwagon.
But while the current Linton’s classic style and outstanding musicality have captured the hearts of tens of thousands of music lovers, Wharfedale’s engineers – led by Director of Acoustic Design, Peter Comeau – knew the design could be pushed further. So, they revisited every element, from the cabinet to the drive units to the crossover, and the result is the new, upgraded Super Linton.
Classics rock
Wharfedale’s great history as a maker of loudspeakers stretches back to 1932 – a quarter of a century before the introduction of stereo sound to consumers. Year after year, decade after decade, Wharfedale created some of Britain’s best-loved speakers, many of which are considered among the finest of their era.
Today, Wharfedale celebrates its past with the Heritage Series – a range of classic stereo speakers from the 1960s and 1970s, re-engineered for the modern age. This range sits alongside the company’s latest highly acclaimed contemporary designs, offering an enticing choice for discerning music lovers with a penchant for vintage style. And yet Wharfedale is not simply cloning past glories; instead, it applies the latest techniques and technologies to ensure the build quality, finish and performance of these classic designs is greatly enhanced, whilst remaining faithful to the spirit of the originals.
The first speakers to join the Heritage line were the Denton 80 and Denton 85, launched to celebrate Wharfedale’s 80th and 85th anniversaries. These were followed in 2019 by the hugely popular Linton – a speaker that has fuelled the popularity of revived and re-engineered vintage speakers more than any other. And in 2023 the big, beautiful Dovedale arrived – the uppermost model in the Heritage range, lovingly made in Wharfedale’s facility in Cambridgeshire.
2024 has seen the addition of two ‘Super’ Heritage Series speakers – premium-level designs that take an existing model and upgrade key elements in specific ways to deliver elevated performance. First was the compact three-way Super Denton; now comes the larger Super Linton.
Wharfedale often used ‘Super’ as a preposition to designate superior product iterations in the mid-20th Century, so this fits with the Heritage Series theme. In fact, a previous Super Linton model launched in 1967, two years after the first Linton, although the new Super Linton bears no technical relation.
Making the Linton ‘Super’
The original 20th Century Linton incarnations began in 1965 as a two-way design and ended as a three-way with 1975’s Linton 3XP. Styled by Robert Gutmann of the British Design Council, its cabinet was substantial enough to hold a large bass unit yet not overly unwieldy by the standards of the day. And its sound was rich, natural and full-bodied, a ‘proper’ hi-fi speaker that was not excessively priced. This combination of attributes earned great popularity.
The 2019 Linton, which remains current, drew from the three-way configuration of the Linton 3XP and Gutmann’s classic styling but re-engineered every aspect, capturing a mix of vintage style and sound elevated by modern technology that is as attractive to today’s music lovers as the original Lintons were to their audience half a century earlier. Ultimately, the current Linton is a hugely enjoyable speaker to own, delivering music in heart-stirring fashion, and that is the key to its success.
While the 1967 Super Linton offered little more than a revised cabinet design over 1965’s two-way original, the new Super Linton is a much more substantial upgrade over 2019’s three-way iteration. It sports the same look, evolved from Gutmann’s original design, but the cabinet is now a little taller and its construction enhanced to improve its acoustic behaviour. The three drivers have been upgraded, including a new treble unit and an uprated motor system for the bass driver. The crossover has been redesigned, now split onto two boards utilising superior circuit components, and even the speaker grille has been improved.The result is a speaker retaining everything that continues to make the 2019 Linton so popular, whilst enhancing performance across the frequency range. Crucially, it maintains the effortless, full-bodied ‘fun factor’, adding more detail, more control, more extension and more impact to the sonic mix.
With sales of the 2019 Linton continuing apace, the Super Linton arrives as a new premium option, beneath only the flagship Dovedale in Wharfedale’s Heritage Series hierarchy.
Price and availability
A modern-retro classic lovingly upgraded using the latest technology, the new Super Linton is available from mid-November in a choice of walnut, mahogany and black wood veneers.
The Super Linton’s MSAP is $2,799 per pair including matching stands, or $2,499 per pair without stands. The 2019-edition Linton continues at $1,799 per pair with stands and $1,499 without. The stands are priced at $499 if purchased separately. (Super Linton speakers will fit on 2019 Linton Stands)
